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Enamel and Gold Cross Pendant Necklace
$45,000
Highlighted by polychrome cloisonné enamel, this 19th century Latin cross pendant is intricately designed with glowing fields of multi-color enamel forming leafy vines and floral motifs. A masterpiece of enameling, it is suspended from an artful, ribbed chain of hollow double trace links that are both voluminous and light. The trefoil or “budded” cross design conceals a secret on the reverse, featuring a glass locket with hair laid beneath it on the reverse of the cross, laid in bright blue enamel work.
- Product Details
- Curator's Notes
Item #: PT-15911
Country: probably English
Circa: 1870s
Size: 3.125” length, 2.375” width
Materials: Cloisonné enamel; 18K Gold; Glass locket; Hair
Signed: "HAC Obit July 6th, 1877" (on the reverse side of the cross)
The challenging techniques of champlevé and cloisonné enamel, practiced in Medieval and Renaissance Europe, were revived in the 19th century with consummate skill by master jewelers like Lucien and Alexis Falize among others. The style of this cross with its brilliant enamels was influenced by A.W.N Pugin’s jewelry designs exhibited at the 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition.